In the morning.
So, here's the situation. Me, the little girl and a bunch of other street kids.
Apparently I have the body of a kid. Recreation, teleportation or whatever.
Reincarnation in a parallel universe, yada yada, science bullshit.
That.
Living next to the gutter, in the trash.
Barely any food, none edible. No money, except what they get from begging.
Though it seems I have a job, kind of. The place where I woke up at was the house of a rich kid, and I'm payed to be their playmate. Disposable, I guess. But I do get paid something.
I should go there when the 'Sun. There.' As said by the little girl while pointing at the sky.
She talks very bad, but she seems like a bright kid.
You're one to say…
I don't think there was anyone around to teach her these kinds of things, but she did manage to pick them up... Somewhat. Since I have no idea of where she was pointing at all, I asked her to tell me when it's almost time for me to go to my job.
So, next in my list is to get to know these kids. And go after that guy who sold fake medicine to the girl. He'll see what happens when you fuck with me...
...
The brats line up in front of me. Or line up as much as you can expect they would, some are running around, others rolling on the floor... Whatever. I ask the little girl to remind me what their names are. She gives me a puzzled look at first, but then starts to point at them.
"Bastahd, ushless thing, cursed chihd, devil's kid, I'm sorry so sorry, shitty brat, piece of shit."
Finally, she points at herself, "little shit".
And I'm trash... I see...
Pft!!! Bwahahahaha! They really think those are their actual names! Hahahahyaha! These slum rats don't even know their names and they think--- Haha! Just because of the stuff people told them before throwing them away--- Pft! Kyahahahaha!
So you know their actual names?
The question is, do I care? Haha! Either way, names are just overrated ways of trying to differentiate boring people who can't stand out by themselves. Do you think I need a name for you to remember me?
I still have no idea of who or what you are.
Eeexactly. By the way, are you curious about your own name?
I remember my own name.
Not your boring old name... Your boring new one!
...
When you were inside your mom's belly, she was happily thinking of different names! Then, she decided to call you Lucifer, just like one of the kings of old, the brightest star! It's a pretty popular name over here. You see, stars are associated with Grand Masters of various subjects, the very peak of human and godly abilities. Shows how much she loved you then.
And then tragedy struck, I guess.
Hahaha! Yup! Old daddy-oh wouldn't recognize you were his kid, and wouldn't leave his wife for dearie mommy. So all of that love turned to hatred and you were thrown away right after being born. Oh the tragedy! Her first and final words to you were "Reficul", which means... Well, it doesn't actually mean anything, but I guess you can see its Lucifer backwards, so I guess it would be something like darkest... nothing? I dunno, is there an opposite to star? Dark, emptiness? Anyways, it's the thought that counts.
Why should I even care? I have no idea who those bastards even are. A name or whatever they thought up doesn't matter.
But what about your revenge story?! The bloody origins?! Staring at your dying mom as she asks who you are, and all you say is: "I'm Reficul." And then the sudden realization on her face as you finish her off! Hyahahaha! The drama! Kyahahaha!
That's so dumb. You fucking clown.
But I guess you do have a point. I died. Who am I right now?
lol You are you. Who else could you be, silly? Hyaha!
Refycool...
That's absolutely not the name I said, but… Oh well, we have to work with what we have.
What remains of a star...? A star is like fire? Then… Ash?
Yeah, very original, 'trash' - 'ash'... Besides, what remains of a star after its end is a black hole. So it would be more accurate to call you ass! Kyahahaha!
"Yo, brats, from now on you can call me big bro, Ash."
"Ash...?" They start whispering amongst each other.
"And I'll be giving cool new names for you, so form a line, here."
"Wait!" The tallest kid approaches. "Me big blo". And he switches his 'r' for 'l'.
"Trash?" The familiar little girl also approaches. "Other name? No big bro, numbah no good."
"Nope, I'm the oldest. How old are you guys?"
The little girl opens her mouth for a while, thinking. Then she gathers the kids and starts doing some sort of mental math-magic I guess. Then she comes back, accompanied by the tall kid again.
"Me. 4. Bastahd. 5. Trash..."
Then she starts to count her fingers "One... Two..."
She shows me three fingers. "Trash four."
Which is it...?
"Nope, I'm seven."
lol best part is that is actually your mental age!
Shut up, I'm 14, bitch.
"Huh?" "What?!" They react, without understanding the math behind it. The little girl in special looks at her fingers, genuinely confused. She starts counting again.
"Tlash, you thlee!" "No, 4!" They start bickering, after a while.
"Then, three plus four is seven! So I'm seven!"
"Wha---? Uh, yes?" The tall boy is surprised and doesn't know what to say.
The little girl starts counting with her fingers, but stops when she reaches five. "Uhh... Uh... 3 plus 4, sefen?"
"Yup, so I'm the oldest! Now you guys have to listen to me!"
"Ohhhh! Seven! Seven!" The other kids who know how to talk start cheering for some reason, while the ones who don't just get happy together with their reaction.
Kids logic... Just say anything with enough confidence.
Just like taking candy from babies. Except there's only rot and shit here. Kyaha!
"So, form a line, time for some new names."
They start obeying me well enough. Some listen to me, others half for fun and the rest just doing what everyone else is doing.
First they show me a baby, held by a very small little girl. The two youngest? They look very thin...
Then, let's try something familiar, so I don't forget.
"Then..." I point at the baby and then at the girl. "Lilianne and Olivia".
You didn't even bother checking, but the baby was assigned male at birth, lucky you she's trans.
Huh...
The familiar little girl stands by my side and starts nodding, as if memorizing the names.
Some of the kids start cheering, actually enjoying that they're getting renamed.
The girl and the baby on the other hand have no idea at all of what is happening, and after a while are pulled out from the line by the familiar little girl.
Next comes a little boy with a runny nose, holding slightly taller boy's shirt, he has a scar on his cheek.
"The little one is Blaine, and the taller one Schwarz."
Another round of cheering.
Next a small little boy who comes rushing at me and gives me a hug.
"What the---"
"Hehehehe! Me! Me!"
"Sure, you're Weiss then..." Even the personality seems to match...
Finally, comes a boy holding a book.
"Do you even know how to read?" He shakes his head in response.
Well... Gotta appreciate the effort, I guess...
"Raven."
Now, only the familiar little girl and the tall boy remain. For the boy, it can only be... What was helmet dude's name again...? Jimmy, Johny...? Whatever.
"You're John from now on."
The boy isn't entirely happy, but it's an improvement at least.
And the little girl can be either Mona or Claire... Hmmm... Violet eyes and brown hair... She does look like Mona I think.
"Mona."
She doesn't express much reaction, but in the way she's staring at me, her eyes seem to sparkle...
Urgh, I hate sob stories. The homeless little girl, dirty and starving, who had nothing to call her own. Thrown away by her family, she found a new one on the streets. Though the people who lived there didn't seem to last. Nevertheless, her brother endured hardship and came back. And now he even gifted her with a name. Now she finally had something to call her own… Not for long, I hope, Kyahaha!
"Mona? Me?"
"Yup, Mona. That's your name from now on. You like it?"
She purses her mouth and starts nodding. Soon her lips begin to tremble as she starts crying, trying to hold her sobbing, all the while still nodding.
Huuuh? Why is she crying...? I've only had a little brother, I'm not sure how to deal with girls...
I try holding her head, in a hug.
"Uhhh... Don't worry, big bro's got you. Everything will be okay..."
Ah... A true master at poetry...
Shut up...
The little girl--- Mona starts sobbing at my shoulder, as I try to comfort her...
Well... That does remind me of my brother...